Cove School[1]

Secondary · ages 11–16

Headline results

Attainment 8: A8 40 39.6 2025/26[2]

Results

GCSE (key stage 4)

Attainment 8: 39.6 2025/26[2]
Grade 5+ in English & maths: 31.5% 2025/26[2]
Grade 7+ in English & maths: 3.9% 2025/26[2]
Progress 8: -0.74 2023/24[3]
Progress 8, 2025/26: Not calculated[4]
Progress 8, 2024/25: Not calculated[4]

Earlier years
Year	Attainment 8	Grade 5+ in English & maths	Progress 8
2024/25	42.7[5]	35.5%[5]
2023/24	40.4[3]	34.2%[3]	-0.74[3]
2022/23	41.4[6]	35%[6]	-0.61[6]
2021/22	44.3[7]	38%[7]	-0.71[7]

Destinations after GCSEs

Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment: 90% 2022/23[8]
School sixth form: 2% 2022/23[8]
Sixth-form college: 36% 2022/23[8]
Further education college: 46% 2022/23[8]
Apprenticeship: 4% 2022/23[8]
Employment: 3% 2022/23[8]

Earlier leavers
Left in	Sustained education, apprenticeship or employment	School sixth form	Sixth-form college	Further education college	Apprenticeship	Employment
2021/22	88%[9]	1%[9]	28%[9]	52%[9]	1%[9]	5%[9]
2020/21	92%[10]	1%[10]	39%[10]	41%[10]	5%[10]	6%[10]
2019/20	95%[11]	2%[11]	38%[11]	52%[11]	2%[11]	2%[11]
2018/19	93%[12]	1%[12]	48%[12]	37%[12]	2%[12]	6%[12]

Shares of the pupils who left in the year shown. Russell Group and Oxford or Cambridge figures were published for leavers up to 2019/20 only.

Ofsted

Latest inspection: 21 Jan 2025[13]
Type: S5 Inspection[13]
Report published: 26 Mar 2025[13]
Personal development: Good[13]
Quality of education: Requires improvement[13]
Behaviour and attitudes: Good[13]
Safeguarding is effective?: Yes[13]
Effectiveness of leadership and management: Requires improvement[13]

Earlier inspections
Inspection	Type	Overall
14 Jan 2020[14]	Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 2[14]	Good[14]
4 Dec 2018[15]	Requires Improvement monitoring Visit 2[15]	No overall grade[15]

Competition to get in

Applications and offers, Year 7

Applications per place: 1.5 Entry Sept 2026[16]
Applications (any preference): 272 Entry Sept 2026[16]
First preferences: 142 Entry Sept 2026[16]
Places offered: 179 Entry Sept 2026[16]
First preferences per place: 0.8 Entry Sept 2026[16]

Earlier years
Entry	Applications	First preferences	Places offered	Per place	First preferences per place
Entry Sept 2025	330[16]	204[16]	203[16]	1.6[16]	1.0[16]
Entry Sept 2024	348[16]	207[16]	198[16]	1.8[16]	1.0[16]
Entry Sept 2023	316[16]	178[16]	205[16]	1.5[16]	0.9[16]
Entry Sept 2022	281[16]	172[16]	207[16]	1.4[16]	0.8[16]

Admissions

Application deadline: 31 Oct 2025 Entry Sept 2026[17]

Character & practicalities

Type: Foundation school[1]
Ages: 11–16[1]
Boys / girls: Mixed[1]
Admissions: Non-selective[1]
Sixth form: No[1]
Boarding: No boarders[1]
Capacity: 1050[1]
Local authority: Hampshire[1]
Website: http://www.coveschool.uk [1]
District: Rushmoor [18]
Postcode: GU14 9RN[1]
URN: 116446[1]

School details as recorded in Get Information About Schools on 14 Oct 2026.

Pupils

Number on roll: 1010 2024/25[19]
English as an additional language: 20.4% 2024/25[19]
SEN support: 27% 2024/25[19]
EHC plan: 3.8% 2024/25[19]
Free school meals in the last 6 years: 28.3% 2024/25[19]

Pupils' ethnicity 2025/26

White: 72.5%[20]
Mixed: 6.3%[20]
Asian: 15%[20]
Black: 4.5%[20]
Any other ethnic group: 1.5%[20]
Unclassified: 0.3%[20]

The school census's major ethnic groups as shares of the school's pupils, summed by us from the published counts. For information only: never used to rank, filter or colour schools.

Sources

Department for Education: Get Information About Schools: all establishments. Period 2026-10-14, published 2026-10-14. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Performance tables schools data (explore education statistics). Period 2025/26, provisional, published 2026-10-15. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2023/24, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Key stage 4 performance 2024/25: data guidance. Period 2024/25. Archived copy; original. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Quote
It is not possible to calculate Progress 8 for academic years 2024/25 and 2025/26 due to gaps in the baseline caused by COVID-19 disruption.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2024/25, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2022/23, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 final. Period 2021/22, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2022/23, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2021/22, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2020/21, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2019/20, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: KS4 destinations. Period 2018/19, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Ofsted: State-funded schools inspections and outcomes. Period 2024/25. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Ofsted: State-funded schools inspections and outcomes. Period 2019/20. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Ofsted: State-funded schools inspections and outcomes. Period 2018/19. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Primary and secondary school applications and offers: school level. Period Entry Sept 2026, final, published 2026-06-29. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
cms-site-files.reactfiles.co.uk: cms-site-files.reactfiles.co.uk — Admission Policy and Arrangements 2026-27 (PDF). Period 2026-10-16. Licence: copyright-quoted.
Quote
The school will consider first all those applications received by the published deadline of midnight on 31st October 2025. (p. 2)
Office for National Statistics: Parish to Ward to Local Authority District (May 2026) Lookup in EW. Period 2026-05-01. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Compare School Performance download: School census. Period 2024/25, final. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.
Department for Education: Schools, pupils and their characteristics: school level underlying data. Period 2025/26, published 2026-06-04. Publication page. Data file. Licence: OGL-3.0.